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background
The name of the organization (project) is TSENGIWE DEVELOPMENT ONE STOP CENTRE. It started its operations on 2005 and was registered as NPO in 2014. Its objectives as spelt out in its constitution and they almost embrace all the support services that are essential to HIV/AIDS affected, vulnerable and infected persons at Tsengiwe Administrative Area and neighboring communities irrespective of age and social status.
ORIGINS AND REASON FOR EXISTENCE
Tsengiwe Development One Stop Centre is a multi-disciplinary centre founded by a Clinical, Professional Nurse, a Teacher, and a trained Qualified Traditional Health Practitioner; a bornafide citizen of the village. She was supported by the late Mr Msengana, headman of the village and is still supported by the current traditional leadership.
Meetings with the broader community were held and the youth was involved, where it was agreed that the centre would serve as a developmental, training and research hub towards the development of the community.
The centre is a community development hub for any further rural development for that community and has created various stakeholder integrated services to ensure sustainable development in the community since 2011 when it was revised from a former concept of Masiphile project that was also founded by the same founder, and due to mismanagement by the Executive Management the strength of the Centre was to be revived and new strategic management were to be initiated to achieve the Centre’s sustainable and development plans of the community. The Centre is registered under the new name Tsengiwe Development One Stop Centre.
The reason for the initiation of the project was basically due to poverty, the increasing rate of unemployment, and retrenchments faced by both young men, women, and youth from this Village. Many young men were retrenched from mines and came back in 1999. Some were suspected to be sick but their status of sickness were not revealed and as a result, some had died. The whole village has tremendous problems because of the above-mentioned reasons. The pathology facing the village is formed by crime, bad school attendance, mushrooming taverns in the village, and home burglaries. The Village at the time was faced with youth attempting and committing suicide once, they were identified HIV/AIDS positive. So far the community lost five (5) youths who successfully completed suicide. One of the concerned women members said, “Myself, I lost my younger brother in 1999 who never wanted to accept that he had HIV/AIDS. My sister in law lost her two daughters who were diagnosed HIV/AIDS, and she never wanted to accept the HIV status and she thought that they are bewitched”. Others do not think that HIV/AIDS is like any disease and thus do not worry about VCT. These were critical concerns and a need for a project to address such challenges was mandatory.
The founder, headman and some women came together and started looking at how to handle the situation. It is difficult to just look at HIV/AIDS in the village with these problems and we decided that a multi-disciplinary project be started to address the situation. Some boys are invited in drugs smuggling at a very early stage and they also experience a lot with the drugs. The project after several meetings with the community and change of status with NPO in Pretoria is trying to regain the status of once more reviving the services provided such as home based nursing care, providing support systems for the elders, children and OVC’s. The current cycle is challenged by lack of funding and hope lost by volunteers. Some do not report every day to the project although they have registered. This is because there are no stipends yet; however, 9 out of 32 community members who registered are still working passionately. To start sustainable measures the volunteers were support by R4000 capital to start self-help programs. This was by University of Fort Hare through a research program with local Traditional Health Practitioners as means to create collaborations between allopathic practitioners and traditional healers. The project embarks at creating and facilitating strong collaboration social networks with all stakeholders in Chris Hani including government departments and business sectors. The project is currently focusing in HIV prevention + Treatment management, Poverty alleviation through Food security (Gardening), Moral Regeneration, Gender based violence and Skills development (Bead making and Sewing).
FEATURES OF THE AREA OF OPERATION
The village is divided into two large village sectors; Upper Tsengiwe and Lower Tsengiwe.
It is a rural village in the Sakhisizwe Local Service Area, part of an Old Xalanga District. It is part of the former Transkei Government and later on it was incorporated in the South African Government. After the Municipality demarcation felt under Sakhisizwe Local Service Area (LSA).
Almost 75% of this LSA are rural with an almost 90% of illiterate people (people who cannot read Xhosa). Again, it is expected that 80% of the population is unemployed. There is no industrial area in this area and therefore people have to go to other provinces such as Gauteng, Western Cape and Frere State to get jobs. 45% of the residents are farm laborers under not so good conditions.
As a rural village and part of the Sakhisizwe LSA, it has inherited its poverty and unemployment problems. Tsengiwe has one Clinic that was built in 2004. The clinic is short staffed since two professional nurses service it. There are no psychological services, and clinic is supported by few Community Health Care workers. There is no ambulance and referrals to hospital in town (11km one way) are at patients’ own accord using very scarce public transport.
In 2015 the local clinic has been identified as an IDEAL CLINIC and the Centre intends to support the clinic to achieve this ideal status. Strengthening home-based Care by the Centre seeks to support high level of quality service and have a community that is health conscious from early age to adulthood. It is also to avoid long queues at the clinic.
PROBLEMS TO BE ADDRESSED
a) The increasing number of HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children due to high death rate of parents as a result provision of continuum of care and support services for OVC’s is needed hence the establishment of child care forums that will look at identification, provision of care and material support to them is highly needed.
b) Lack of coping skills to those that are infected, affected and OVC’s and the need for psychologist support in a form of support groups will be of assistance.
c) Rising prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases among the community, which is resulting, to stigma and discrimination of those infected, awareness campaigns will empower our people and decrease the infection rate and discrimination.
d) High unemployment rate especially to youth and women of Tsengiwe resulting from poverty the program will address these two aspects in a way. However youth do not want to volunteer, they want stipends.
e) Creating self-development projects to improve economy of the community members. The Centre has already supported creation of a skills development program and one Co-operative for the volunteers at the Centre as one strategy to assist community improves its economy.
Strengthen and expand strong development and research relationships with closest University provincial, and government sectors as means of ensuring sustainability of the Centre.
BENEFICIRIES AND PARTIES INVOLVED
Tsengiwe One Stop Centre home based care is targeting beneficiaries that are children, youth, HIV/AIDS infected and affected people.
The affected people includes the orphans, vulnerable children, child headed households, older people and the families of the infected.
The beneficiaries will be receiving the service that they need, as they are also playing a role in the planning implementation of the program. The target group is reached through working closely with other relevant stakeholders (Social Development, Health, Educational, Local counsellors, Health Systems Trust and others). Local Aids Council is supporting and monitoring all services rendered by NGO’s, CBO’s and Government Department on HIV/AIDS to ensure that the service is of good quality and is addressing the needs of the community.
